UniverCity Leads Way with Next Generation of Green Infrastructure Innovation

Showcasing Innovation at UniverCity

The UniverCity on Burnaby Mountain event was titled “A Partnership in Action: from Vision to Implementation”. The showcasing program comprised a set of four cascading presentations that described past, present and future initiatives:

• Segment 1 – Building a Community: Creating a Sense of Place  – Living in a sustainable community means having shops, services and amenities within walking distance to your home. Now that the built environment at UniverCity is taking shape, the emphasis shifts to creating the cultural environment. Chris Hartman described goals, principles and considerations that have shaped the UniverCity Development Plan and its implementation.
  
• Segment 2 – HISTORY of a leading application of stormwater management – In 2000, translating high expectations for UniverCity into practical design guidelines meant revisiting accepted drainage engineering practice. David Reid elaborated on the details of the precedent-setting plan for rainwater management and watercourse enhancement ….that set in motion a chain of outcomes that has resulted in British Columbia being recognized internationally as a leader in achieving ‘design with nature’ outcomes in an urban environment.
  
• Segment 3 –  Green Infrastructure and Adaptive Management: Learning by Doing – UniverCity is a pioneer application in North America of ‘adaptive management’ in a local government setting. The goal of adaptive management is to learn by doing and constantly improve. Chris Hartman provided a very interesting look at traditional City of Burnaby standards, contrasted with the solutions implemented at UniverCity, and described how lessons learned are being reflected in engineering designs for successive phases. His focus was on the rainwater/stormwater management system.
• Segment 4 – Green Zoning and Planning – UniverCity is implementing innovative new zoning policies, mandatory green building requirements, and new density bonusing program that has been developed in partnership with the City of Burnaby. The approach that UniverCity is taking will achieve a LEED Silver equivalent. Dale Mikkelsen elaborated on the progression from guidelines to requirements so that site developers will clearly understand what is expected of them.

To read the complete story of Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation on Burnaby Mountain, click on UniverCity Leads Way with Next Generation of Green Infrastructure Innovation.

Originally posted on Green Infrastructure Community-of-Interest in October 2007